diff --git a/dotfiles/quickshell/CLAUDE.md b/dotfiles/quickshell/CLAUDE.md
index 63995f2..c840656 100644
--- a/dotfiles/quickshell/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/dotfiles/quickshell/CLAUDE.md
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ qs -p .            # run this directory explicitly regardless of symlink
 qs -n              # exit immediately if another instance is already running (use to avoid duplicate shells while iterating)
 ```
 
-Quickshell hot-reloads QML on file save when already running, so for most edits just save and check the running instance rather than restarting `qs`. The watcher follows the file's inode, so an edit that REPLACES the file (`perl -i`, `sed -i`, `mv`) silently detaches it — the shell keeps rendering the previous config and `qs log` still says "Configuration Loaded" for the last real reload. Edit in place, or `touch` a still-watched file to force a full reload. There is no separate build/lint/test tooling in this repo — verification is visual/behavioral via the running shell. `qmlls` (QML language server) is configured via `.qmlls.ini` for editor diagnostics.
+Quickshell hot-reloads QML on file save when already running, so for most edits just save and check the running instance rather than restarting `qs`. It watches file CONTENT: `touch` alone never reloads (mtime is not a change), while any real edit does, including inode-replacing ones (`sed -i`, `perl -i`). A save that is not picked up leaves the shell rendering the previous config with no error — `qs log` shows a `Reloading configuration...` line for every save it saw, so that is the check. There is no separate build/lint/test tooling in this repo — verification is visual/behavioral via the running shell. `qmlls` (QML language server) is configured via `.qmlls.ini` for editor diagnostics.
 
 ## Architecture
 
diff --git a/flake.nix b/flake.nix
index 457279b..7501c10 100644
--- a/flake.nix
+++ b/flake.nix
@@ -583,6 +583,7 @@
           # instance is the identical build to the packaged one.
           qs = "${nixpkgs.legacyPackages.${system}.quickshell}/bin/qs";
           git = "${nixpkgs.legacyPackages.${system}.git}/bin/git";
+          grep = "${nixpkgs.legacyPackages.${system}.gnugrep}/bin/grep";
 
           # Resolved at RUN time, not build time: the entire point is to run the
           # working tree, and `self` here is only a store snapshot of it.
@@ -631,6 +632,33 @@
             echo "qs-dev: live on $cfg — edits there now hot-reload"
           '';
 
+          # qs log -f prints everything the instance logs; WARN and ERROR are the
+          # two that mean something is wrong with the QML in front of you. A
+          # binding loop or a failed binding is a WARN and easy to miss when it
+          # scrolls past inside a reload's worth of chatter.
+          qs-log = pkgs.writeShellScriptBin "qs-log" ''
+            set -uo pipefail
+            ${preamble}
+
+            filter='WARN|ERROR'
+            case "''${1:-}" in
+              -a|--all) filter='.' ;;
+            esac
+
+            # -t 1: `qs log -f` replays the whole backlog first, which would dump
+            # every historical warning into the terminal on shell entry.
+            #
+            # `qs log -f` ends when the instance it attached to exits, and the dev
+            # shell outlives individual instances — a QML error kills one, `qs-dev`
+            # starts another. Re-attach instead of going quiet for the session.
+            while :; do
+              if running "$cfg"; then
+                ${qs} log -p "$cfg" -t 1 -f 2>/dev/null | ${grep} --line-buffered -E "$filter" >&2
+              fi
+              sleep 1
+            done
+          '';
+
           qs-prod = pkgs.writeShellScriptBin "qs-prod" ''
             set -uo pipefail
             ${preamble}
@@ -641,7 +669,7 @@
           '';
         in
         pkgs.mkShell {
-          packages = [ pkgs.quickshell qs-dev qs-prod ];
+          packages = [ pkgs.quickshell qs-dev qs-prod qs-log ];
 
           # Swap on entry, swap back on exit. Three guards:
           #   - interactive only ($- has i). `nix develop --command X` EXECs X,
@@ -655,9 +683,15 @@
           shellHook = ''
             if [[ $- == *i* ]] && [ -n "''${WAYLAND_DISPLAY:-}" ] && [ -z "''${HOMELAB_QS_DEV:-}" ]; then
               export HOMELAB_QS_DEV=1
-              qs-dev && trap qs-prod EXIT
+              if qs-dev; then
+                # Stream the dev instance's warnings and errors into this
+                # terminal, and take the follower down with the shell.
+                qs-log & HOMELAB_QS_LOG=$!
+                trap 'kill "$HOMELAB_QS_LOG" 2>/dev/null; qs-prod' EXIT
+              fi
             fi
             echo "homelab devshell — qs-dev (working tree) / qs-prod (packaged); exit restores"
+            echo "homelab devshell — quickshell WARN/ERROR stream here; qs-log -a for everything"
           '';
         };
     };